Assault on the St. Helens
The St. Helens assault was a major conflict of Syphon Filter: Logan’s Shadow in which multiple US forces were sent to secure the contents of hold 5 on the USS Mt. St. Helens, which was boarded and hijacked by Somali terrorists. It ended with the antagonist fleeing with the classified contents, while the ship itself was scuttled in an attempt to stop Bitar from surviving. Gabe Logan was eventually forced to dive into the ocean to save himself. The confrontation began when Robert Cordell deliberately ordered the ship to be left alone, without an escort, in the Indian Ocean, and hired Ghassan al-Bitar to acquire Shen Rei before other countries could do the same. Bitar used waves of thugs to overrun the St Helens, killing the entire crew, and tried to gain access to cargo hold 5, which held highly restricted material transported by Cordell. Subsequently, the NIOC director orchestrated events such that Special Forces were sent to stop the Syrian but failed; Gabe Logan was then persuaded to head on-site to settle an old score with Bitar. Cordell later ordered that Fifth Fleet fire on the vessel to stop Bitar from escaping, but failed. Events The initial attack Did you get the codes? He wouldn't talk. Throw him overboard and find the captain. This time I will do the questioning. -Ghassan al-Bitar and a Somali thug confer When the pirates first assaulted the St. Helens, it was a battle of attrition: their foot soldiers died in the masses, but they kept sending men to overtake the boat. They ultimately conquered the security forces and took controls of the ship's weapons systems. Conference with Cordell We don't have time to go over the details, Logan. We need you on site now. Transport's standing by. Let me just get this right. A US Naval supply ship is attacked by Somali... Pirates, from these? We don't know how. That's why I'm sending you. Because the Somali's want the contents of hold five. I never said they were after hold five. I only said, I need you to secure it. -Cordell and Gabe discuss the incident Called up on the phone, Gabe and Teresa watch Robert Cordell brief them on the circumstances: a group of al-Jamil pirates have seized the USS Mt St Helens and Logan is requested to be onsite to secure the contents of hold 5. Teresa argues that this is beyond IPCA jurisdiction, but Gabe agrees to go because of a loose end he had to settle with the leader, Bitar. Approaching the ship Chief, I'm picking up a distress signal. From the ship? No, Special Ops...code blue. Sounds like they're in trouble. -Alima reports to Gabe Upon arriving onsite, Gabe realises his pilot has intercepted a distress signal, broadcasted for several hours, and suspects that things may not be what they seem. He destroys the St. Helens’ CIWS missile launchers before landing, and fights his way to the distress call’s source. Along the way, he encounters the body of a US Special Forces, and realises Cordell relied on organisations other than the IPCA. The revelation Damn it, we're too late. He's dead. Why didn't Cordell tell us Special Forces were onboard? Did he think that would've scared us off? Then he underestimated us...again. -Teresa and Gabe converse After terminating a considerable amount of pirates on deck, Gabe arrives in a corridor with a wounded soldier beneath him and contacts Teresa, telling her to get Cordell online. From the dying troop’s last words, he determines the attack was complex enough for Bitar to be the brains behind it. Second downing of Alima's chopper Continuing his search, Logan takes down squads of enemies and establishes an uplink to the St. Helens communication system. His pilot is shot down and he rushes to rescue her, but she dies. Gabe endeavours to destroy the pirate boats. Destruction of the Somali vessels I'm at the bulkhead. They've ripped a hole in the side of the ship. -Gabe reports the St. Helens damage to Teresa He finds a stash of C4 explosives and uses it to detonate a number of vessels, opening a passageway into the St. Helens lower levels. Battle climax Fifth Fleet is firing missiles on the St. Helens. They're trying to scuttle their own ship. -Teresa tells Gabe about Fifth Fleet Entering the cargo compartment, he kills waves of pirates and finds that the cargo has been stolen. He attempts to shoot down Bitar, but Fahid Tamer intercepts him; the fight ends when he kills the enemy. Finding the St. Helens is being fired upon by the Fifth Fleet, he dives into the ocean just as a destroyer’s cruise missile impacts on the doomed boat, sinking it. Aftermath With the vessel scuttled, a new antagonist had set their sights on it - the Russian Spetsnaz Alpha squad. They dispatched a team of elite naval commandos to search the area and find anything interesting, with Kudrenko's right-hand man, Surgeyev, supervising the operations. Sea mines were deployed to deter parties attempting to close in, while a Soviet Stalker Submarine was also sent out to provide reinforcements in case any intruders attempted to encroach on the wreckage. Category:Conflicts of Syphon Filter: Logan's Shadow